The Minsk city authorities have denied permission to the
Conservative Christian Party (CCP) for holding a rally in a Minsk park
on March 25 to mark 94 years since the proclamation of the 1918
Belarusian National Republic.

As CCP Deputy Chairperson
Yury Belenki told BelaPAN, the opposition party's members wanted the
rally to take place in Kiyewski Park, an unusual venue for a
demonstration.

The city authorities rejected the party's
application for permission, explaining that it had failed to specify
what security measures would be taken during the event.

The CCP
has never been permitted to stage demonstrations on the BNR anniversary,
Mr. Belenki stressed. "We even sued the Minsk City Executive Committee
over that matter in the past and, certainly, to no avail. Laws do not
work in our country," he said.

CCP activists will not join a
sanctioned opposition march and rally on March 25, Mr. Belenki
announced. "We treat Dzen Voli (Freedom Day) as a holiday and find it
unacceptable to celebrate it in a place where dogs are walked," he
noted.